Series/Parallel wiring

[Moriartii]

Ok I have a dumb question here:

How do you wire a sub in series/parallel? I have found the diagrams and for some reason it isnt clicking for me. Throw me a bone here. This is on a DVC woofer (dual voice coil).

Cheers
K

[motorhead]

Originally Posted by Moriartii

Ok I have a dumb question here:

How do you wire a sub in series/parallel? I have found the diagrams and for some reason it isnt clicking for me. Throw me a bone here. This is on a DVC woofer (dual voice coil).

Cheers
K

Depends on what ohms you need to match up to. I take it you mean the sub has four terminals?

[Moriartii]

Yes the sub has four terminals to match each voice coil that it has. I need to present a 4 ohm load to the amp so in my case it would be series (2 x 2ohm DVC).

I assume the - of one coil is wired to the + of the other and then the remaining - and + are wired to the amp?

Cheers
K

[motorhead]

Originally Posted by Moriartii

Yes the sub has four terminals to match each voice coil that it has. I need to present a 1 ohm load to the amp so in my case it would be series (2 x 2ohm DVC).

I assume the - of one coil is wired to the + of the other and then the remaining - and + are wired to the amp?

Cheers
K

Series would not be right to drop the ohms on a DVC sub. What is the ohm value for each coil?

edit: I read your post again, and It looks like you have 2ohm voice coils. Series will give you 4 not 1.

[Rogue Leader]

Originally Posted by Moriartii

Yes the sub has four terminals to match each voice coil that it has. I need to present a 1 ohm load to the amp so in my case it would be series (2 x 2ohm DVC).

I assume the - of one coil is wired to the + of the other and then the remaining - and + are wired to the amp?

Cheers
K

No, series is wrong. Series will double the Ohm load, you need to halve it. Wire the + terminal of the amp to the + of the first coil, then wire that to the + of the second coil. Do the same for the - side and you will be running at 1 Ohm.

[Darth Martel]

series + \/\/\/\/ - + \/\/\/\/ - (the middle - and + is wired together) series adds resistances


parallel
+ \/\/\/\/ -
+ \/\/\/\/ - (the end +'s are wired together and then the end -'s are wired together) parallel divides the resistances

[Moriartii]

See my original post, I had the load wrong. Needs to be a 4 ohm load, not the original 1ohm like I had stated.

So it sounds like I should wire it like Darth Martel suggests?
Cheers
K

[Rogue Leader]

Originally Posted by Moriartii

See my original post, I had the load wrong. Needs to be a 4 ohm load, not the original 1ohm like I had stated.

So it sounds like I should wire it like Darth Martel suggests?
Cheers
K

Yeah, just out of curiosity what amp and subs are you using?

[Moriartii]

Using a SSA ICON 12" sub with a SA 125.2 amp in a Subthump trunk enclosure.
Cheers
K

[CamaroSkooter]

I would like to ask an add-on question for you guys.

When wiring up a sub, does the wattage the sub receives differ at all when put in series versus parallel?

I totally understand resistance, but I must have skipped the class in Physics about wattage.

I only ask because I was considering purchasing a new amp for a pair of subs in another vehicle, and I was trying to figure out what wattage of amp I needed to buy. I have two 4-Ohm dual-voice coil 12" Alpine Type-R subs. Which means, if I wire the voice coils in series but the subs in parallel, I get an equivalent load of 4-Ohms, or if I wire all four voice coils in parallel I would get an equivalent load of 1-Ohm. However, I am not sure what wattage I need to be able to push at the amp when the the subs say 500watts max per voice coil.

Does that make sense?

[Moriartii]

I think from what I have been reading you are ok to wire the subs voice coils in series but it is bad to wire the amps in series.

Cheers
K

[mrray13]

Originally Posted by CamaroSkooter

I would like to ask an add-on question for you guys.

When wiring up a sub, does the wattage the sub receives differ at all when put in series versus parallel?

I totally understand resistance, but I must have skipped the class in Physics about wattage.

I only ask because I was considering purchasing a new amp for a pair of subs in another vehicle, and I was trying to figure out what wattage of amp I needed to buy. I have two 4-Ohm dual-voice coil 12" Alpine Type-R subs. Which means, if I wire the voice coils in series but the subs in parallel, I get an equivalent load of 4-Ohms, or if I wire all four voice coils in parallel I would get an equivalent load of 1-Ohm. However, I am not sure what wattage I need to be able to push at the amp when the the subs say 500watts max per voice coil.

Does that make sense?

With the subs you have, a monoblock amp, rated 1000wrms at 1 ohm would be perfect. The Memphis MC-1000d is a good example.

[third1]

What type of sub is it( dual 2 ohm voice coil)or (dual 4 ohm voice coil) ? You will need a dual 2 ohm to get reach a 4ohm load.

[Evotion]

This is a nice visual example of the different wiring configurations that someone put together http://slumz.boxden.com/f22/subwoofe...agrams-833961/

[2010SLVRBULIT]

wiring in series will increase the speaker resistance that the amp 'sees', and parallel wiring +/+ -/- will decrease the resistance, causing the amp to try and create more power for that load. Whether or not the amp is stable under that 'load', and if the speaker can handle the amp power is the key.

DVC subs allow for different wiring flexibility, that's about it.

[CamaroSkooter]

Maybe I'll ask my question in a different manner.

If you have an amp that's rated for 1000watts at any resistance load (4-Ohm, 2-Ohm, or 1-Ohm), how many watts would each voice coil of a subwoofer see if it was wired in series or parallel?

Does each voice coil see 500 watts regardless of the configuration (series or parallel), or does the configuration determine the wattage that each voice coil sees?

[Rogue Leader]

Originally Posted by CamaroSkooter

Maybe I'll ask my question in a different manner.

If you have an amp that's rated for 1000watts at any resistance load (4-Ohm, 2-Ohm, or 1-Ohm), how many watts would each voice coil of a subwoofer see if it was wired in series or parallel?

Does each voice coil see 500 watts regardless of the configuration (series or parallel), or does the configuration determine the wattage that each voice coil sees?

Ok first off an amp cannot be rated for the same wattage at any resistance load. Lets take a real life example, first lets talk about RMS power because peak is BS. Lets take a real amp too, RF puts out a 600x2 amp. This amp will do 200x2 at 4 ohm, 300x2 at 2 ohm or 600x1 at 2 ohm. You need to match your load with desired power output or you will get decreased power or over drive the amp and burn it out.

So to take the different available scenarios using the most common speaker configurations (4 ohm and 2 ohm SVC and DVC):

200x2 at 4 ohm

You need 2 SVC speakers rated at 4 ohms each hooked directly and separately to each channel.

OR you can have 4 2 ohm speakers and wire two of them in series to each channel. You would go + on the channel to + of speaker 1, - to + from speaker 1 to 2, then - to - on the channel.

OR you can do the same with 2 DVC speakers with 2 ohm voice coils.

300x2 at 2 ohm

You would need 2 DVC speakers with each voice coil rated at 4 ohms, you would then hook the positive side of the first channel to the positive of the 1st voice coil, then to the positive of the second voice coil, do the same with the negative, then go to the next speaker and channel and repeat.

OR you can do this with 4 4 ohm SVC speakers by connecting them in the same manner, just treat the second speaker like a second voice coil.

OR if you have 2 ohm SVC speakers you can directly wire the positive and negative of each channel to each speaker.

600x1 at 2 ohm

You can do 1 DVC speaker with 4 ohm voice coils wired in parallel and bridging the channels, to do this you use the positive from channel 1 and negative from channel 2 (read the amp's manual to make sue this is the case some have specific setups to bridge them).

OR 2 SVC speakers with 4 ohm coils wired the same way

OR 1 2 ohm SVC speakers wired directly.

The possibilities become even more if you throw in 8 ohm and 1 ohm (does anyone even make a 1 ohm sub??).

So in the end theres no exact formula for wattage, you have to look at what the amp is rated at based upon recommended load ratings, better quality amps will be able to hold better RMS wattage at lower resistances.

[2010SLVRBULIT]

[QUOTE=CamaroSkooter;1881465]Maybe I'll ask my question in a different manner.


this = the configuration determine the wattage that each voice coil sees

[mrray13]

Originally Posted by Rogue Leader

Ok first off an amp cannot be rated for the same wattage at any resistance load. .

Well...

Several amp companies have regulated power supplies, which means they produce the same power regardless of impedance presented by the subs. JL and PG are two off the top of my head. So one cna wire anywhere from 1 ohm to 8ohm, and the amp will provide the same power. Only regulated power supply amps can do this, and the down side is that you can't cheap by wiring below rated resistance and getting more power, if you can supply the voltage.



And yes, if oone wires a sub in parallel or series, and it's a dual coil, quad coil, whatever, the power is split evenly amongst those coils.

[CamaroSkooter]

Rogue, I appreciate the "lesson" but I wasn't asking about impedence. And there are amplifiers that are "rated" for the same wattage regardless of load. Check out Alpine's PDX series amplifiers. Not only do you get the same wattage at the different impedence levels, you can also stack them to save space

My question was, if you have a set load, do the voice coils each get an equal split of the amplifier wattage regardless of them being in series or in parallel? I believe mrray13 answered that for me though.

Which boils down to, my subwoofers are both dual voice coil subs (four voice coils total). Each voice coil is rated at 500watts max (probably 250watts RMS, they're a much older version, I need to find the paperwork) which means I need an amplifier that can supply 1000watts RMS at whatever impedence I decide to wire them at.

[mrray13]

Originally Posted by CamaroSkooter

Rogue, I appreciate the "lesson" but I wasn't asking about impedence. And there are amplifiers that are "rated" for the same wattage regardless of load. Check out Alpine's PDX series amplifiers. Not only do you get the same wattage at the different impedence levels, you can also stack them to save space

My question was, if you have a set load, do the voice coils each get an equal split of the amplifier wattage regardless of them being in series or in parallel? I believe mrray13 answered that for me though.

Which boils down to, my subwoofers are both dual voice coil subs (four voice coils total). Each voice coil is rated at 500watts max (probably 250watts RMS, they're a much older version, I need to find the paperwork) which means I need an amplifier that can supply 1000watts RMS at whatever impedence I decide to wire them at.

Yep, you got it!!

[Rogue Leader]

Originally Posted by mrray13

Well...

Several amp companies have regulated power supplies, which means they produce the same power regardless of impedance presented by the subs. JL and PG are two off the top of my head. So one cna wire anywhere from 1 ohm to 8ohm, and the amp will provide the same power. Only regulated power supply amps can do this, and the down side is that you can't cheap by wiring below rated resistance and getting more power, if you can supply the voltage.



And yes, if oone wires a sub in parallel or series, and it's a dual coil, quad coil, whatever, the power is split evenly amongst those coils.

Originally Posted by CamaroSkooter

Rogue, I appreciate the "lesson" but I wasn't asking about impedence. And there are amplifiers that are "rated" for the same wattage regardless of load. Check out Alpine's PDX series amplifiers. Not only do you get the same wattage at the different impedence levels, you can also stack them to save space

My question was, if you have a set load, do the voice coils each get an equal split of the amplifier wattage regardless of them being in series or in parallel? I believe mrray13 answered that for me though.

Which boils down to, my subwoofers are both dual voice coil subs (four voice coils total). Each voice coil is rated at 500watts max (probably 250watts RMS, they're a much older version, I need to find the paperwork) which means I need an amplifier that can supply 1000watts RMS at whatever impedence I decide to wire them at.

You need to check the amp specs. Yes this can be done in a way (admittedly I've been out of the game for a while so I didn't even realize these amps were out there), but The Alpine example used puts the same output out at only 2 and 4 ohms, the JL example depending on the amp AND the channel configuration may only go down to 1.5 ohms not bridged or 3 ohms bridged and only as high as 8 if its bridged. Its not as simple as you make it sound, they will not always put out the same power, so as I said at the end of my description, you need to read the amp specs and match your speakers and wiring to it because the amp you want to use may not match what you have. For example Look at the JL HD 900/5 for the front or rear channels it puts out 100wx2 at 4 ohms but only 75wx2 at any lower impedance.

But yes skooter maybe I read your question wrong but no matter how you have it wired they will split the power evenly between coils or subs or whatever. Your last statement is exactly right, you need to find an amp that can provide whatever power you need at whatever impedance the coils are rated for and you wire them at. The amp may be able to handle multiple load ranges but it can't defy the laws of Physics.

[mrray13]

JL Audio 1000/1v2 Monoblock...
1000 W RMS @ 1.5 ohm - 4 ohm (11V-14.5V)


is one example of a regulated power supply amplifier. PG has made one, as had a few other companies. They aren't as plentiful as non-regulated power supply amps, but the can be found.

Also, I did overgeneralize a bit above, but my point remains the same, lol. Also, Rouge Leader is correct. You should always check specs before buying.

[CamaroSkooter]

Like I said above, I remember all the stuff in physics about impedence, just forgot all the stuff about wattage (or I neglected to pay attention )

[IGOTGAME816]

http://www.the12volt.com/caraudio/wo...s.asp?Q=2&I=22 I always jsut use this